In addition to offering books and related materials both in print and digital formats, libraries provide a community space in which services like story times, computer classes, language development workshops, and career counseling can help community members develop essential skills. Many libraries offer services to help their patrons gain technological literacy, for instance, where parents find resources to develop their children's cognitive skills, and where workforce members learn or further their skill sets.

As a recent Reuters article by Ian Simpson emphasizes, public libraries have played a key role in providing shelter and other services to the homeless whose numbers have increased during and following the economic recession of 2007 - 2009. There were 610,000 homeless people recorded living in the US in January of 2013, and almost 400 homeless people have been killed in hate crimes over the last 15 years, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless.

When people are left stranded on the streets and victimized for no reason, it is the 9,000 public libraries across the United States that have stepped up to help people in their hour of need and extended their services to reach the homeless. Between 2004 and 2011, most libraries have raised their homeless outreach programs by 47% in order to serve the institution's larger social and community mission.

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Mon, 28 Jul 2014 12:30:00 EDT
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Workforce Development Services in Your Library
Mantra Roy
Many of your patrons seek information about job skills, ranging from new technologies that employers require to guidance with successful job searches and applications. You are addressing your community's needs. But you want to do better. Have you wondered about new ideas, methods, strategies that can help you reach your patrons' diverse needs more efficiently?

Several librarians from four New York State library systems, including Baldwinsville Public Library, Clinton-Essex-Franklin Library system, Mid-York Library system, and New Rochelle Public Library, shared the strategies they employed in order to help their patrons. Here is a list of their top suggestions. Ask your patrons what they need: what do they need from the library and what kind of sessions would they like, one-on-one or group, face-to-face or online.

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Wed, 25 Jun 2014 16:30:00 EDT
e110b9b5bee5ede9f765ece06f60cf11e7b452e8d75b976a73d86d0175320bce
Collaboration Resources
Project Compasshttp://ri.webjunction.org/content/webjunction/documents/webjunction/Collaboration_Resources.html
Mon, 06 Jan 2014 13:18:43 EST
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Serving Job Seekers: Partnerships with a Common Goal
Ahniwa Ferrari
Last week WebJunction was pleased to host a webinar on Serving Job Seekers that brought together perspectives looking at national resources, state efforts, and work at the public library level. Michael Harding, WorkForce Analyst with the Employment and Training Administration at the U.S. Department of Labor, covered the topic in terms of national efforts and resources. Steve Olson, Regional Director Job Services Operations Bureau and the Montana Department of Labor and Industry, covered statewide efforts in Montana. To finish, Aubrey B. Carroll, Information Services Manager for the Florence County Library System, covered the topic from the local public library perspective. Each speaker brought an interesting perspective and covered numerous helpful resources which are linked to on the WebJunction event page.

To begin, Jennifer Peterson covered some of the recent efforts that WebJunction has made to assist libraries in aiding job seekers and to highlight the excellent work that libraries are doing in that area. WebJunction's big project in this area was Project Compass, which was a three-year project that focused on patron needs and libraries' responses, and which resulted in building a community of practice on WebJunction and a workshop curriculum for interested libraries. More of WebJunction's resources in this area can be found in our Workforce Services topic, under the Project Compass project page (including the Curriculum Workbook), in the Community Partnerships and Collaboration Guide, and in Library Partnerships with Workforce Agencies.

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Mon, 11 Nov 2013 15:00:00 EST
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Structure and Use of the Workforce Recovery Pathways Video
Betha Gutschehttp://ri.webjunction.org/content/webjunction/documents/webjunction/Structure_and_Use_of_the_Workforce_Recovery_Pathways_Video.html
Fri, 01 Nov 2013 14:57:14 EDT
fdf0bf8a0129facae2b4cb93c4814b7c7c347a8c6043b10b1176e7b14f99692c
Community Partnership and Collaboration Guide
Jennifer Petersonhttp://ri.webjunction.org/content/webjunction/documents/webjunction/Community_Partner_Collaboration_Guide.html
Thu, 31 Oct 2013 18:28:25 EDT
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Keeping Ones Cool in Difficult Times
Pat Wagnerhttp://ri.webjunction.org/content/webjunction/documents/webjunction/Keeping_Ones_Cool_in_Difficult_Times.html
Mon, 28 Oct 2013 12:28:56 EDT
f5eccb985e969fa1d1435d3b5afd6297b9777055298a1677d7eb1fd776d1c65f
Career Resources for Young People
Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
With the youth unemployment rate hovering around 16 percent, there's a national need for resources that help teens and young adults explore careers, identify education options, and search for jobs. There are many general career and job search resources available. However, young people have unique career planning needs not always met by adult-focused materials. For instance, while adults often have a good idea of the types of careers they want to pursue, teens are candidates for step-by-step assessments and career exploration. Similarly, adults often have past job search and employment experiences to draw on, while young people benefit from more detailed information about the job-search process. The U .S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration (DOL/ETA), provides resources specifically designed to meet these needs for youth: CareerOneStop's Students and Career Advisors section is designed for high-school students, parents, and career advisors. The website includes four key topics with links to relevant resources and information:
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Mon, 21 Oct 2013 14:00:00 EDT
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Job Search, Training, and Career Tools for Mobile
Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
Today, according to the Pew Research Center, 56 percent of American adults own a smartphone of some kind, and 10 percent of people only have Internet access through their phone. Add to these stats the fact that 77 percent of job seekers in the US are now using mobile sites to search for jobs, and it’s obvious that mobile has become extremely important for career development.

CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U .S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (DOL/ETA), has provided an array of tools allowing users to quickly search job listings, find local training and employment resources, and access relevant career information for more than 15 years.

Now, for on-the-go users or those whose primary web access is through their smartphone, CareerOneStop offers five of its key tools in simplified mobile web applications. These include

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Wed, 25 Sep 2013 13:00:00 EDT
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Employment and Training Resources for Spanish Speakers
Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
As part of an ongoing collaboration with the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration (DOL/ETA) and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), WebJunction is pleased to update you on employment and training resources for Spanish Speakers.

Could you use resources to help Spanish speakers with job search, training, or career exploration questions? The U .S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (DOL/ETA) offers several Spanish resources, both online and in print. Follow the links below to free products for your patron’s needs. The Spanish-language versions can be accessed at the top right corner of each site.

The CareerOneStop suite of websites offers a Spanish translation feature on several products, including:CareerOneStop offers a single point of entry to DOL/ETA websites, tools, and resources for job seekers, students, businesses, career professionals. Users will find tools, tips, local finder tools, and other resources for career exploration, education and training, and job search;mySkills myFuture helps laid-off workers and other career changers find new occupations to explore. Users can identify occupations that require skills and knowledge similar to their current or previous job, learn more about these suggested matches, locate local training programs, and/or apply for jobs.

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Fri, 23 Aug 2013 16:30:00 EDT
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Helping Veterans Meet Their Employment Needs
Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
As part of an ongoing collaboration with the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration (DOL/ETA) and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), WebJunction is pleased to update you on a free web resource to help veterans and transitioning military members with their employment, training, and other workforce needs.

A great way for veterans to get started finding a job is to use the “Local Help” feature to find and contact their local American Job Center, where they can meet with a Veterans Employment Representative. These staff members—often called LVERs or vet reps—can assist veterans with a range of employment and training needs including job leads, resume writing, interview skills and more. Using the “Local Help” function on the homepage of the Veterans ReEmployment website, veterans can find office locations and maps, as well as phone and email contact information for veteran representatives.

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Fri, 02 Aug 2013 10:00:00 EDT
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Helping Businesses Meet Employment Needs
Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
Since 2010, the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration (DOL/ETA) and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) have been working together to support workforce development efforts through library and the public workforce system partnerships. And IMLS funded WebJunction’s Project Compass, a grant initiative to provide resources for libraries to meet the workforce recovery needs of their community. WebJunction is pleased to continue collaborating with IMLS and DOL/ETA towards these efforts and is pleased to update you on new resources available that can be used to support businesses in your community.